Corpse Bride
a) Genre
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride is a stop-motion film with themes of adventure, romance and mild horror. The adventure spans the Land of the Living, as well as the Land of the Dead. The main character, Victor, is stuck in a rut when he accidentally proposes to a Corpse Bride while his betrothed, Victoria, has no idea. The story as a whole has an air of horror which begins with the title of the film itself.
b) Individual Animators
Stefano Cassini is a director, producer and animator who has worked on live action documentaries as well as specialising in character design for animation. He is fascinated by the combination of stop-motion and new digital processes. As well as Corpse Bride, he has worked on Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run, the TV series Creature Comforts and more. He has expertise in other aspects of filmmaking for live-action as well as animation, such as scriptwriting, storyboarding, character design, construction, shooting, editing, post-production, drawing and photography.
Stefano Cassini's animation showreel
Mike Cottee is an animator who has worked on animated films for Disney, Dreamworks and Warner Bros. Pictures. He specialises in 2D animation. He has worked on The Tale of Desperaux, The LEGO Movie, Guardians of the Galaxy and more. He has a knack for capturing the nuances of expressions for human and animal characters alike.
You can see his work on Corpse Bride at the 1:01 mark in the showreel below.
Stefano Cassini's animation showreel
Mike Cottee is an animator who has worked on animated films for Disney, Dreamworks and Warner Bros. Pictures. He specialises in 2D animation. He has worked on The Tale of Desperaux, The LEGO Movie, Guardians of the Galaxy and more. He has a knack for capturing the nuances of expressions for human and animal characters alike.
You can see his work on Corpse Bride at the 1:01 mark in the showreel below.
c) Production Process
The pre-production for Corpse Bride began as it would for any stop-motion - and arguably any live-action film - would: the initial concept was generated, designs and concept art were made, storyboards were drawn. Then sculptures of each character were made as a reference for the modellers to model the actual puppets from. The puppets stood at around 17 inches tall on average and had a wire skeleton inside them to allow the animators to manipulate them.
Previous stop-motion films involved removable heads that would be replaced to give the character various emotions. However, this is a tedious process, so the modellers instead created tiny gears in the main characters' heads. This allowed the animators to change the characters' expressions a lot more easily, with a lot more attention to detail.
When production started, the sets were built to the right size for the puppets to move around in it as if it were a live action film. There were around 30 separate sets. Corpse Bride was originally supposed to be shot on film, but at the very last minute the plans were changed and the film was shot on digital cameras.
The animation began at a studio in London. It started with a dozen animators, but the number had tripled by the end of production.
The visual effects were applied in post-production. Most of the effects simply covered up elements that were not supposed to be seen, such as puppet supports and set equipment. Some visual effects elements were created completely with CGI, for example the butterfly in the opening of the film. Some aspects, such as Emily's - the Corpse Bride's - veil, were animated using a combination of stop-motion and CGI.
Previous stop-motion films involved removable heads that would be replaced to give the character various emotions. However, this is a tedious process, so the modellers instead created tiny gears in the main characters' heads. This allowed the animators to change the characters' expressions a lot more easily, with a lot more attention to detail.
When production started, the sets were built to the right size for the puppets to move around in it as if it were a live action film. There were around 30 separate sets. Corpse Bride was originally supposed to be shot on film, but at the very last minute the plans were changed and the film was shot on digital cameras.
The animation began at a studio in London. It started with a dozen animators, but the number had tripled by the end of production.
The visual effects were applied in post-production. Most of the effects simply covered up elements that were not supposed to be seen, such as puppet supports and set equipment. Some visual effects elements were created completely with CGI, for example the butterfly in the opening of the film. Some aspects, such as Emily's - the Corpse Bride's - veil, were animated using a combination of stop-motion and CGI.
d) Narrative/Storyline
The film has a classic, linear beginning - middle - end layout. It begins with Victor's introduction and the viewer learns of his arranged marriage with the daughter of a Lord and Lady. The strict rehearsal of the wedding does not go according to plan, so Victor walks to the forest alone and ends up saying his vows perfectly. To his horror, he finds he has accidentally proposed to a Corpse Bride.
He is dragged to the Land of the Dead where he learns the Corpse Bride's name is Emily, and she was murdered by her fiancé before she could get married.
The rest of the film covers Victor's change of heart when he learns of Emily's story, and he agrees to drink poison to marry her. However, Emily changes her mind at the last minute, and realises that she is dead and Victor belongs with Victoria. She says that Victor has "set her free" and she disappears in a cloud of butterflies.
He is dragged to the Land of the Dead where he learns the Corpse Bride's name is Emily, and she was murdered by her fiancé before she could get married.
The rest of the film covers Victor's change of heart when he learns of Emily's story, and he agrees to drink poison to marry her. However, Emily changes her mind at the last minute, and realises that she is dead and Victor belongs with Victoria. She says that Victor has "set her free" and she disappears in a cloud of butterflies.
e) Target Audience
The target audience for this film is children between the ages of 7 and 15. The narrative would traditionally be targeted towards mainly females, however the aspect of horror and adventure caters for a male audience as the theme of romance caters for females. People who are in the ABC1 socio-economic grade are stereotypically the sort of people who would take their children to the cinema or buy the DVD. Fans of Tim Burton are another audience this film targets - his unique style is one that many people have come to admire. The film also targets people who are interested in animation.
f) Characters/Stars
The main character in this film is Victor Van Dort. There are two other main characters; Victoria - Victor's fiancé - and Emily, the Corpse Bride.
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